Coal-washing apparatus



April 14, 1931- c. F. RICHARDS COAL WASHING APPARATUS Filed NOV. 2, 1927 IN d. IMM

ATTORNEY INVENTOR l 'l` E S PATE'I' CHARLES F. RICHARDS, OF WHITE HAVEN, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIG-NOB TO MII-MGT ENGINEERING COMPANY, F LPIAZLEVION,` PENNSYLVANIA, A CORPORATION Cil" PENNSYLVANIA COAL-WASHING' APPARATUS Application filed November 2, 1927. Serial No. 230,427.

is supplied continuously and at substantially constant pressure.

It also is an object of the invention to pro vide means of novel construction for eil'ect ing a more thorough and complete separation of the impurities from the coal than heretofore has been practicable; and also to provide an improved construction of means for removing the impurities from the apparatus after their separation from the coal.

To these and other ends the invention comprehends the construction as hereinafter described in detail, particularly set forth in the claims and as illustrated in the drawing forming a part of this specification and to which reference should be made for aready and clear understanding of the invention.

In the drawing:

Fig. l is arview in vertical central longitudinal section of an apparatus embodying` the invention;

Fig. 2 is a view in elevation looking toward the rifrht hand side of Fig. l, a portion of the structure being shown in section; and

Fig. 3 is a top plan view of the structure shown in Figs. l and 2.

In the drawing I have shown a tank 1 provided with supporting feet 2 which are secured to and supported upon sills 3.

The tank l is of peculiar shape comprising a vertical. wall 4 on what I shall term the front side thereof7 which is the side from which the coal is discharged after having been washed and separated from the impurities of the character above indicated. rihe opposite or rear side of the tank is of curvilinear shape, as shown. The tank is provided with a vertically adjustable breast plate 5 connected with and adjustable by means of a rack bar 6 the teeth of which are in engagement with a gear 7 which is adapted to be rotated in either direction to adjust the said plate vertically either up or down.

The plate 5 is guided between the rear edge or" a plate 10 and the front edge of a narrow plate l1, the latter having upon its rear edge a downwardly extending narrow flange 1:2. The plate 10 is connected at its opposite ends by means of rivets 13 to the opposite sides of the tank and is supported by the said rivets with the upper surface of its lower edge substantially iiush with the lower edge of an opening 14 which extends horizontally in the vertical plate et. The coal after it is washed or cleaned is discharged from the compartment 15 Jformed between the upper portion of the wall i and the upper portion of the adjustable breast plate 5. rlhe plate 10 extends upwardly from the front plate Ll at an angle substantially as is shown in Fig. l of the drawing. The plate 11 is secured at its opposite ends by means of rivets 17 to the opposite sides of the tank l, the said plate being supported by the said sides.

The mixture of coal and impurities to be washed is discharged from a chute 2O into the upper rear corner portion ci the tank l between the rear wall thereof and a pivotally supported balile plate 2l which is suspended by means ot arms 22 from a cross shaft 23 provided with an arm 2d having mounted thereon an adjustable weight 25. rIhe action of gravity upon the arm 2&1. and the weight 25 is such as to hold the baille plate 21 normally in position with its lower edge against a shoulder 26 formed in the transversely and downwardly extending plate 27 which constitutes the bottom ot a compartment 30 within which the washing and separation of the coal from its impurities are eiiectcd. he plate 27 is bent so as to provide a plurality of portions angularly related to each other as indicated. Three oi these portions, which I have designated respectively 8l, 32 and 33, are provided with perforations 34. The portions 31 and 33 are inclined so that they form acute angles with vertical lines drawn therethrough and are located respectively in planes which are substantially parallel with each other. The upper edge of the portion 33 is connected with the lower edge oi' the portion 31 by means of the portion 32, the several portions being integral with each other. The

portion 32 extendsupwardly and occupies a very nearly vertical plane.

The rear side of the tank l is curved, as

previously stated,'and cooperates at its lowerl end portion with arelatively narrow curved portion 37 to form a. relatively narrow passageway 38 Vthrough which the water-travels after it has been delivered thereto from a )i e not shown havin@ connection with the short tubular projection 40. Located inside `of the rear wall-'of the tank l l have provided a. curved plate i-l the lower edge of which rests against the inner surface of the said rear f wall, while the upper edge thereof contacts with the under side ofthe plate 27 at the upfper edge ofthe portion 3l,asshown in Fig. l.

` |The water for washingthel coal and separating-impurities therefrom is delivered from a supply pipe, not shown, through the port or opening at l0 and thence throughv the narrow passage `38 within the tank land 'thence upwardly'through theperforations 311V in thev portions 3l, 32 and 33 of the plate-27. ltwill vbe .observed lthat the upper portion of theV curved plate il l'cooperates withrzthe portions `3l andj32 ofthe plate 27 to form an elongated pocket and it will be apparent lthat the water which v,enters the said .pocket une er pressure,

as -it willfbe, is discharged notonly through the perforations in the portion 3l but .also

through the perforations inthe porti-on 32.

`The water also is discharged.throughv the perforations in the portion 33. lt will be noted, therefore, that water liows through the .portion of the compartment 30 directly above or beyond the perforated portion of the plate 27 in what is. in effect three etree-niais.,v one stream .emanating from the portion 3l, another -vfrom the portion 32, 4and another from .the portion 33. rlhese three flowing portions Vor streams of water acting upon the material whichhas been delivered tothe compartment 30 operate to cause ascending .movement of the coal within saidfcompartinent but do not V-Ihave sufficient force to cause a like movement 4ofthe slate or otherimpurities the specific Agravity of `which is greater than that of the coal. f

The coalfwhichfis causedto flow or move upwardly as indicated, is carried overthe upper side of the narrowplate ll and also over .the upper edgeof the adjustable breast plate 5. .After having .been carried over and beyond the breastplate 5 the coal falls or is deposited :uponthe upper sidev of the plated() along v vwhich. it slides or rolls to the opening 14 from `which it is discharged. After'its dischargev .the coalniay'be conducted or eonveyedtc any pointdesired. The depthor width of the .opening lll may fbe varied byadjusting .the

plate Owhich is :located .upon the outer side of the Ifront side lofthe tank.V f Aln the position Aas illustrated `in 'F ig. liofthe Adrawingthe lower edgefof `the saidadjustable plate-50cc- -..cupie s Va position below the upper ledge `-portion of the opening 14. However, it will be understood that the said plate may be adjusted upwardly by means of the rotatable gear wheel 51 which is in engagement with a rack 52 the lower end portion of which is connected to the plate 50, and also that it may be adjusteddownwardly.. Y

After the coal has once reached a position over the plate ll, it will, in case it should start `to move downwardly,lodge uponl the upper Vside of the said plate and thereby probably be prevented fromV continuing itsdescending fniovenientto' an extent sufficient to permit it to be re-commingled with theV impurities which may rest upon the portion 33 of the perforated plate 2 .n

` The impurities, which Vare ofgreater; specilic gravity .thanthe coal, instead of being lifted'and carried upwardly by the. force of.

the flow of water through the perforated portions ofthe plate 27, rest upon the latter, particularly the portion 33 thereof. As the impurities pile up uponthe portion 33 they en- Y gagev the rear side of the lower edge portion of the gater which is pivoted by means of ears 56 to the oppositesides of the tank l'.

V The upper edge of the gate 55 extends into position adjoining the lower side ofthe plate ll and when the said gate. is opened, as in dicated by thedash and dot lines in Fig. l,

lits opening movement may be limited by the contact of the upper edge` of the said gate with the Vinner sideofthe narrow flange l2. The said gate is provided .with a weight 53 adjoining its lower edgethepresenceiof which constitutes an additional weight which by the action of gravity tends to hold the gate 55 in the closed position shown in Fig.- 1,

The slate and other Vimpurities which are separated from the coal are discharged into a trough 60, the upperV side of `which is open as shown. The rear edge portion of the said trough 'is in alinement'with and in adjoining Vrelation to the lower front edgev ofthe plate 27 and also in substantial alinement with the gate 55 Vwhen `the latter .is in the.- position shown in full lines inF ig. lof the drawing. The opposite edge ofi-the troughV is provided with an extension plate 61 which terminates in adjoining relation tothe lower edge ofthe plate 10 andfto the lower edge of the Yopening lll and is seated against the front wallxl.k The slate and other impurities-wliichmay have been separated fromthe coal are discharged .into the trough 60 the bottom of which is inclineditransversely of or across the apparatus, as best illustrated Vinv Fig. 2, :and discharges into a pipe 62 the lower end .portion of which extends downwardly indicated at 63 and is closed by-means of a closingv plate or disk 6d. .The downwardly extending "or depending portion 63 of the pipe is provided with Y openings 65 in'l the sides thereof. a, short distance above its flower end. .For the purpose of controlling these openings Ihave provided Aion y The lower end of the rod 67 is connected to the inner' end of a lever '.70 pivoted intermediate its ends to a bracket arm 7l depending downwardly and outwardly from the closing plate or disk 64. The said lever 70 is provided upon its outer end with a weight 72 which is adjustable thereon as indicated. Gravity acting upon the weight 72 and upon the outer end portion of the lever .70 tends to cause upward movement of the valve 66 to close or partially close the openings 65. The slate and other impurities which are discharged into the trough 60 travel therethrough and outwardly into the pipe 62 and descend upon the valve 66. 'When the weight of these iinpurities is sutlicient to cause the latter to descend in opposition to the action of gravity upon the weight 72 the ports 65 are opened and the impurities are discharged therethrough until the force exerted by the weight of the impurities above and which rest upon the valve 66 becomes less than the force exerted by the weight 72, whereupon the valve 66 is caused to move upwardly to again close the ports 65. If the percentage of impurities in the mixture of coal and impurities is great the probabilities are that the valve 66 may be held almost continuously in open position; but if the percentage of impurities is very small the said valves may be opened only at intervals.

ln the operation of the apparatus the mixture of coal and impurities falls rst upon the uppermost imperforate portion 7 5 of the plate 27 from which it slides o onto the portion 3l where it is first subjected to the action of an upwardly flowing stream of water. The action of this stream may be to separate the coal from the impurities and carry the same upwardly and forwardly over the plate ll and also over the adjustable breast plate 5. lf, however, a portion of the coal remains commingled with the impurities it may be separated or partially separated by the action of the water flowing through the perforations in the upright portion 32 of the plate 27. The remaining and complete separation is eected by the water flowing through the perforations in the portion 33 of the plate. By the action of these three portions or streams of flowing water complete cleansing and separation of the impurities from the coal are effected.

lt is to be remembered that in the operation of the device the opening lll for the discharge of the coal must be properly restricted by the restricting plate 50 so as to prevent the water from flowing too freely from the compartment l5. 1Setter results are achieved when a certain amount of water is retained in the said compartment.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

l. An apparatus for washing coal, coniprising a tank having a curved passageway extending therethrough and also having a plate extending across said passageway, said plate being provided with perforated angularly related portions two of which are located in upwardly inclined spaced parallel planes and the other one of which extends in a very nearly vertical plane and unites the adjoining edges of the other two portions, the upper end of the wall of said passageway being curved and extended into contact with the upper perforated end of the said plate to form therewith a pocket below the level of the water in the tank.

2. An apparatus for washing coal, comprising a tank provided with a curved pas sageway extending therethrough7 the said passageway being divided into lower and upper compartments by a plate extending downwardly and transversely thereacross, the said plate having a plurality of portions extending transversely of the apparatus and being angularly related to each other, one of the said portions adjoining the rear side of the said tank being imperforate and others of the said portions nearer the front side of the said passageway being provided with perforations, the uppermost and lowermost of the last named portion-s being in spaced substantially parallel planes and the intermediate portion connecting` the adjoining edges of the two last named portions being located in a plane extending transversely of the said two parallel planes, and a curved plate located within said passageway adjoining a portion of the rear wall thereof and contacting at its upper edge with the upper edge of the uppermost of the last three named portions and contacting at its lower edge portion with the inner side of the rear wall of the said passageway, the said perforated por tions operating to divide the water flowing through the said passageway into three streams which cooperate to eii'ect separation of the coal and impurities, substantially as described.

8. Apparatus for washing coal, comprising a tank having a curved passageway leading from the bottom portion of the front wall thereof and extending rearwardly and upwardly7 a plate extending from the rear wall of the said tank downwardly and transversely of the said passageway, the lower portion of the said plate comprising three angularly related portions which extend transversely of the said tank, which portions are perforated, the lowerinost and uppermost portions being located in inclined spaced planes which are substantially parallel with each other, and the intermediate of the said perforated portions being connected at its opposite edges to the adjoining edges of the A. said upper and lower portions, and a curved Y plate located in the said passageway opposite the lsaid lower perforated portion of the said plate, they upper edge portionV of the said Y curved plate cooperating with-the two uppermost of the said perforated portions toform a pocket below the level of the water in the tank fromwhich pocket water is discharged in substantially vertical and horizontal direcl tions7 the streams thus produced co-operating Y. with a stream formed by the passage of water y through the perforationsin the lowermos't of l the said portions,-substantially as described.

.- 4. An'apparatus for washing coal,l com- ,prising a tank having a curved passageway extending therethrough and. also having a l' plate extending across said'passageway, said Vplate being providedwith perforated angu-` larly related portionsvtwo of which are' located in upwardly `inclined-spaced parallel planes and the other one of which extends in averyinearly vertical `planeand unites the adjoining edges'ofwtheother two portions,

25 the upper end of the wall ofthe said passageway being curved and extended into VContact Y Vwiththe upper perforated endofthe said plate to formtherewith a pocket, kmeans for depositing a mixture of coal and impurities j upon-the `uppermost portionsy of saidy plate,

v thexcoal and fthe impurities being separated "by the actionl of water vdirected upwardly through vthe perforations formed in said plate v v and means for vpreventing the descent of coal downwardly in the said `Vapparatusafter it has arrivedat a point in adjoining relation to .its point Lof discharge. y j f j v 5. Apparatus'ofzthe eharacterdescribed, comprising a tank having a curved passageway extending therethrough,said passageway having front and rear wall-s, 'a plate exy tending downwardly from the rear wall transverselyof and across the said passageway, a portion ofv said plate having perforations therethrough,and a curved plate located f Vin said passageway below the first'V named plate, with its lower edge Vportion "resting l 1 Vupon the rear wall thereof, andV its upperedge being locatedin (zo-operative relation tothe 5a.V upperedgeof the perforated portion ef the iirstnamed plate and co-operating with said first named plate to form a pocket below the :level ofthe water-inthe tanl, from which pocket water isdiseharged both longitudinally and transversely of the said curved pas-l l f .In testimony'that claim the vforegoing as y my invention, l have hereunto signed my Y j name this'27th day of0ctober,-A. 13.1927.

` .CHARLES F. RICHARDS.l

es i 

